DENVER - When Gianna Cassetta put together the SOAR Charter Elementary School in far northeast Denver, she wanted to create something different for kids at lunch. So she took the bold move of being the only school in Colorado to offer an all-vegetarian menu.
"You know, when we went into this, we anticipated that there would be some resistance to plant-based eating," said Cassetta.
"People said, 'Oh, kids won't want to eat that food or parents will really be resistant,' and I made a decision really early on that I wasn't going to listen to them."
Cassetta worked with the culinary manager at Revolution Foods, Matt Dwyer, to come up with a menu that uses sources other than meat for protein.
"The vegetarian diet creates a whole load of options and opportunity actually. It's not as much about excluding things," said Dwyer. "From Caribbean, to Asian, you name it, North African; they all have a lot of veggie-based meals."
The SOAR lunch program has been so successful, it was recognized as runner-up to the national Golden Carrot Award given out by the Physician's Committee on Responsible Medicine.
"It's great to be recognized, especially in an area that's around healthy eating," said Cassetta.
While the school lunches are vegetarian, students are welcome to bring in meat in their own lunches and they can, of course, eat meat at home.
"We're not trying to turn them into vegetarians," said Cassetta. "We're trying to turn them into young adults who can make smart decisions."
Cassetta says so far, the kids have not complained.
"This lunch is very good. I like it a lot," said Skyler Brantley, a 3rd grader. "It makes your brain stronger and healthier and it's really good for you."
Dwyer says the effort is really about showing kids that there are other options out there other than meat.
"Just thinking about the whole concept of food as health and nutrition and giving kids a good opportunity to get a well-balanced meal that's going to facilitate them to learn better and not dip off in energy levels which is the second half of their day," said Dwyer.
The lunches do cost more to make than traditional lunches in other schools, but Cassetta says it's all worth it.
"Part of our belief system is around doing things that we think is best for kids and not in the norm," said Cassetta.